I have a new client.  Well, almost-client.  We have talked and texted and messaged each other to talk about how I can help her. And she does need help. Her problem? She hired a crummy designer. She paid hundred of dollars and got a really mediocre logo made with clipart and stock fonts. Nothing custom. Nothing special. In fact, the logo doesn’t even reflect the fun, energetic person she is. Obviously, this designer spent no time talking to her about her business goals or branding. On top of that, the designer was hard to contact, horrible with follow-up, and would go weeks with no contact.

Sadly, this kind of thing happens too often. If the designer has a fancy webpage or a good referral, it’s possible to hire them without getting what you pay for in the end. So, how do you avoid this?

First and foremost, look at their portfolio. Any good designer has one. Most bad ones do as well. If there is no portfolio, don’t even consider the designer. No. Just don’t. There should be a lot of art provided to show that this person knows something about design. There should be variety in the portfolio—the pieces shouldn’t all look the same. If it does, be wary that this is a one-trick pony. Unless that “look” is exactly what you were looking for, then, yah, I guess its fine. But otherwise, no. 

Is the designer local? This isn’t a deal killer. But really, it is a much better idea if you can meet face to face at least once or twice. The designer needs to be able to relate to you and understand your business. Ideally, you should maybe even like each other. You have to have trust as well. This is so hard to establish with text messages and emails.

Does the designer spell out exactly what you are getting for your money in some sort of contract? I have to admit, for smaller jobs, it’s tempting to skip this, but really, there should be something on paper to outline everyone’s expectations. This way, you will know what to expect. The designer knows what you expect. Everyone is protected from most misunderstandings this way. This contract should say what the finished product will be, in detail. It should say what rights the clients has to the art afterwards. It should have the price and the timeline.

Lastly, be prepared with your expectations and be willing to ask questions when meeting the designer. One of the most important ones is “do you feel comfortable designing this?” or “is this a design job that you feel suits your style?” Not all designers are the same. We all have a look and feel to our art, and if you ask me to design something for you that is totally out of my comfort zone or realm of knowledge or whatever, I’d like you to know in advance. I understand that I might not be the designer for you. And I think most other designers feel the same. I’d rather not get the job than have you hire me and then be really disappointed that I didn’t meet your needs. I once had someone ask me to help design a graphic novel called the Onion (NOT the satire publication) that involved scantily clad women. I knew pretty much immediately that I was the wrong designer for the job.

So my next project is to fix my almost-client’s $600 lack-luster logo, once we sit, talk, have a cup of coffee hopefully, and sign a contract, of course. I can guarantee that it will be energetic and custom tailored just for her. Maybe I’ll post a “before and after” as a future blog entry!

Cheers—Kelly

Kerning is a term I learned when I got to my Lettering and Layout class in my sophomore year at college. It’s a pretty easy to understand design concept, and a very important one when working with any kind of text. Basically, kerning is the amount of space between letters.

Kerning is one of those things that when done properly, you don’t notice. The text is easy to read, it’s easy on the eyes, and it's comfortable. It’s when the kerning is done poorly that suddenly the text is awkward and sloppy. It can even take on a totally new meaning.

To explain this better, I think it's easier to show you examples. (I always like visual examples!)

Can you see it?  How the spacing is off?  Maybe on York and Travel you have to look for it a bit more, but it’s there.  And it’s uncomfortable.  And the part about it changing the meaning altogether? Check these unfortunate signs out:

Sadly, these are real. And there were even worse ones when I searched for examples. It’s a shame, because it’s an easy design fix and should have been caught long before being mounted on a sign.

Luckily, most software today, even ones not specifically for design, have some sort of kerning option. In the design world, standards like Adobe products have easy kerning options and shortcuts built in to make it a quick and simple fix.  Other more cumbersome programs like Word and Publisher have ways to do this if you start digging around in the formatting and fonts tabs.

So, what IS good kerning? It’s when the letters fit together with an even, comfortable space around them. The trick is that with characters that have round shapes and diagonal lines, they aren’t going to automatically fit and look good. So it’s the designer’s job to fix that. In my example, I’ve typed a common word, ACTIVE. In the first frame, it’s shown exactly how it was typed. In the second, I’ve adjusted for the slant of the A, the curve of the C, and the slant of the V. Can you see the difference?

An hour.

Are you surprised? It takes me about an hour to sit at my computer and draw a design, and come up with colors that look good, and find and tweak some fonts that all look good together. An hour.

But that's not the whole story. What you might not know is how much time I thought about your logo.

There are afternoons that I have sat at my desk, staring at a blank screen, trying to imagine what your business needs to say. Many times I'll find a comfy spot with a fresh cup of coffee, a notepad, and a pencil, and sketch ideas for a while. Sadly, when I really don't have a good handle on what makes you or your company tick, you'll find me laying awake at night staring at the ceiling.

You also might not know that I talk about your logo--sometimes with friends or my kids, but especially with my husband.

Despite my claim that I'm the "creative one," he's a great sounding board, and a good sport. I'll throw ideas at him. He'll throw ideas back at me. He'll ask me questions from a different point of view that helps me think about your needs from a different perspective. Sometimes he'll offer up ideas that are so far off-base that I question why I even bothered to talk with him about it. More times than not, those ridiculous ideas lead to some really creative starting points.

You also probably didn't know that I spent an hour and a half just this evening reading up on the latest marketing trends. I want your logo to look current and fresh. Yesterday, I searched through a great font site I found, to see if I could find some really fun new fonts that can breath some life into the new image I'm trying to create for you. Last week I read four different articles on the best strategies for "Call-To-Actions" in both web design and printed media to capture your customers' attention.

So let's set up a coffee date! We'll talk about your business and your brand and budget and schedule and all the important stuff.

Then give me an hour.